Madison Metropolitan School District
From left: Mohammed Choudhury, Dr. Joe Gothard, Dr. Yvonne Stokes.
The finalists for superintendent of Madison schools, from left — Mohammed Choudhury, Joe Gothard and Yvonne Stokes — will face six interview panels over two days.
Equity and justice were top of mind for the 18 students who interviewed the three finalists vying to be Madison’s next superintendent.
“Madison has had for a very long time one of the largest achievement gaps in the state,” a student noted in the second question of today’s panel interview, which was livestreamed and recorded. “As students, we have also noticed a significant achievement gap in our schools. In order to rectify this, real systemic change is needed. Please share an example of how you have effectively worked to narrow the achievement gaps in your schools.”
Joe Gothard, the current superintendent of St. Paul schools and a former La Follette High School principal, identified a summer school class in the St. Paul district where welding was taught along with math to help students fulfill a requirement with more of a hands-on component.
“It has made a difference for Black students in particular in terms of graduation rates,” he said. Gothard also talked about the country’s first East African magnet school opening in St. Paul during his time as superintendent and a focus from the district on developing curriculum for the children of Karen refugees.
Gothard has created a buzz of support locally for his Madison ties and years-long connection to La Follette as a teacher, coach and principal.
In her response, Yvonne Stokes, a former superintendent of Hamilton Southeastern Schools in Indiana, highlighted her background as a teacher of students with special needs and said that “boots on the ground” would be needed to determine the needs at individual schools in the Madison school district. She said there are best practices supported by research that could help students who are falling behind.
“I’ve been in districts where they didn’t understand equity,” she said. Stokes resigned under pressure after receiving backlash for diversity and inclusion efforts in the district. She told the student panel that she made it a priority to explain the importance of equity efforts to community members.
“Equity is not this scary taboo word. Equity is making sure that we give children what they need to be successful.”
Mohammed Choudhury talked about his time as an associate superintendent in San Antonio, Texas. There he helped create a blind lottery enrollment system where even the children of connected politicians — including the mayor’s — were placed on waitlists. Choudhury said this helped create an “equity of access” that allowed struggling students an equal chance at admission to the district’s best schools and special programs.
Choudhury said as Madison superintendent he would focus on shadowing students. “One thing I’m very passionate about is people’s lived experiences,” he said.
Students also asked about how the candidates would bridge racial and language differences and improve the graduation rates for people with disabilities or individual education plans. Topics not covered included school safety, test scores and school funding.
Each of the three candidates was questioned separately for about 30 minutes. Members of the public and journalists were unable to attend in person. Parents and caregivers will lead the questioning at another panel tonight. Watch the livestream here.
Candidates will be questioned by six other panels through tomorrow, but none of the panels on Feb. 7 will be open to the public or media. Asked about the arrangements, the district said via email that they “believe this will provide an accessible way for the entire public to observe the proceedings and gain insights into the superintendent selection process.”
Choudhury was not asked about controversy generated in his previous role as Maryland’s state superintendent of schools. Stokes was also not asked about her resignation from her previous district. Poor audio quality during Choudhury’s questioning left long seconds of dead air and choppiness in the middle of several of Choudhury’s answers that also affected the online recording.
Community members can provide feedback on the candidate’s responses to both panels at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MMSDFinalCommunityFeedback until Feb. 9.
